iW.-f  111.  Library 
51 


MADE  BEFORE  THE  LEGISLATIVE  COMMITTEE  ON  RAILROADS 
IN  RELATION  TO  A 


OakStreet  CONSOLIDATION 
UNCLASSIFIED 


stall  k 


RAILROAD  CORPORATIONS, 


AND  THE  REMOVAL  OF  THE  BEACH  STREET  PASSENGER 
STATION  OF  THE  BOSTON  &  ALBANY  RAILROAD. 


BY  THE 

PKESIDENT  OE  THE  BOSTON  &  ALBANY  RAILEOAD  COMPANY. 


MARCH  3,  1880, 


BOSTON : 

FRANKLIN  PRESS:  RAND,  AVERY,  &  CO. 
1880. 


ADDRESS  OF  D.  WALDO  LINCOLN. 


Me.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee,— 
The  importance  of  the  question  which  you  are  to  consider,  to 
the  city  of  Boston,  to  the  stockholders  of  both  of  the  corpora- 
tions directly  interested,  including  the  Commonwealth,  with 
its  large  interest  in  the  Boston  and  Albany  road,  to  the  passen- 
gers and  patrons  of  the  roads,  and  especially  of  the  Albany 
road,  upon  its  whole  line,  not  for  this  year  or  next  year  only,  but 
possibly  for  the  whole  future  of  these  roads,  seems  to  require 
that  a  full  and  frank  statement  should  be  made  of  the  suc- 
cessive steps  by  which  the  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany 
road  have  reached  their  present  position,  and  of  the  consid- 
erations which  have  influenced  their  policy  and  action.  In 
order  that  there  may  be  no  mistake  or  misunderstanding  on  the 
subject,  so  far  as  their  position  or  views  are  concerned,  and  so 
far  as  I  am  able  or  permitted  to  represent  them,  I  have  thought 
it  proper  to  put  my  statement  in  writing. 
cj      The  scheme  for  a  joint  passenger-station  for  the  Boston  and 
j£    Albany  and  Boston  and  Providence  roads  is  not  a  new  one. 
f     Before  the  present  station  of  the  Providence  road  was  erected, 
or  any  work  had  been  done  upon  it,  my  predecessor  had  an 
interview  with  the  then  president  of  the  Providence  road,  at 
^    which  I  was  present,  and  proposed  the  erection  of  a  joint  pas- 
senger station  by,  and  for  the  use  of  both  roads  upon  the  land 
of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Company.    We  were  informed 
that  the  plans  for  a  separate  and  independent  station  for  the 
^    Providence  road  had  been  prepared  and  approved,  and  that 
it  was  not  expedient  or  practicable  to  change  them.    The  Rail- 
road Commissioners  have,  on  more  th,an  one  occasion,  recom- 
mended in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  the  joint  use  of  the 


4 


present  station  of  the  Providence  road  by  both  companies ;  and 
it  is  now  in  compliance  with  their  recommendation,  that  meas- 
ures have  been  taken  by  the  directors  of  the  Boston  and 
Albany  road  to  effect  a  union  of  the  two  companies,  and  thus 
secure  the  joint  use  of  the  station. 

Failing  in  the  attempt  for  an  arrangement  with  the  Provi- 
dence road,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  aware  of  the  necessitjr 
for  better  passenger-accommodations  for  the  road,  the  directors 
have  availed  themselves,  from  time  to  time,  of  every  opportunity 
to  obtain  the  necessary  land  for  the  purpose,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  present  station.  They  have  purchased  since  1868,  land 
and  buildings  north  of  the  Albany-street  bridge  at  a  cost  of 
1500,000  ;  but  they  have  delayed  building,  for  reasons  which 
will  sufficiently  appear. 

The  present  movement  for  a  new  station  for  the  Boston  and 
Albany  road  was  commenced  in  the  fall  of  1878,  by  a  petition 
from  certain  property-owners  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Beach-street 
station,  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  Boston,  asking  for  the 
removal  of  the  obstructions  to  Kneeland  Street  hy  the  Boston 
and  Albany  Railroad.  This  petition  resulted  in  the  passage,  by 
the  aldermen,  of  stringent  orders  to  prevent  the  illegal  obstruc- 
tion of  the  street.  In  January,  1879,  the  matter  was  brought 
before  the  Railroad  Commissioners,  by  a  petition  from  the  same 
parties ;  and,  after  a  hearing,  the  Commissioners  decided  that 
the  complaints  of  the  petitioners  were  well  founded,  and  they 
recommended  to  the  directors  of  the  road  that  they  should  take 
the  subject  of  new  passenger-accommodations  in  Boston  into 
immediate  consideration,  and  cause  some  definite  plan  in  relation 
thereto  to  be  prepared.  They  not  only  said  this,  but  they  went 
much  further ;  and  I  desire  to  read  some  extracts  from  their  re- 
port upon  the  subject,  which  is  presented  in  the  tenth  annual 
report  of  the  Railroad  Commissioners  for  the  year  1879. 

"  The  Boston  and  Providence  corporation  has  recently  built  a  model  station 
in  Boston  at  a  site  which  cannot  be  improved  upon.  It  is  nearer  the  busi- 
ness parts  of  the  city  than  the  dwellings  of  a  great  majority  of  its  wealthier 
residents.  If  completely  utilized,  it  could  be  made  to  accommodate  a  vast 
amount  of  travel,  —  certainly  three  hundred  trains  a  day.  To  reach  its  own 
Kneeland-street  station,  the  Boston  and  Albany  crosses  the  tracks  of  the  Bos- 
ton and  Providence  almost  at  the  entrance  of  this  model  station.  By  simply 
turning  its  tracks  to  the  left,  it  could  enter  it,  and  there  find  every  accom- 
modation it  needs  ready  to  its  hand.  .  .  .  The  grade  crossings  would  be 
done  away  with,  the  Boston  and  Providence  station  fully  utilized,  Kneeland 


5 


Street  relieved,  the  entire  territory  owned  by  the  Boston  and  Albany  south 
of  that  street  could  be  used  exclusively  for  local  freight  purposes  by  all  three 
of  the  roads  named,  if  thought  desirable,  and  a  perfectly  easy  access  would 
be  secured  for  all  of  them,  as  well  as  the  Tunnel  route,  to  the  South  Boston 
flats.  If  the  corporations  could  but  be  induced  to  act  together,  this  might 
be  effected  at  almost  no  outlay  at  all,  and  with  an  enormous  saving  in  expen- 
ditures now  already  contemplated.  That  they  will  so  act,  the  Commission- 
ers, in  view  of  the  transactions  of  the  past,  hardly  entertain  a  hope.  By 
themselves  they  are  powerless  to  effect  any  thing;  but  on  its  merits  the  case 
is,  nevertheless,  so  plain  that  they  cannot  refrain  from  stating  it  In  tak- 
ing the  subject-matter  of  this  hearing  under  advisement,  therefore,  the  Board 
would  urgently  press  upon  the  management  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  that 
they  should  consider  it  in  connection  with  the  whole  railroad  situation  on 
the  south  and  west  sides  of  Boston,  both  as  it  at  present  stands  and  m  its 
probable  development.  It  is  at  any  rate  indisputable  that,  unless  existing 
lines  and  existing  facilities  are  to  be  utilized  through  concentration,  they 
will,  in  the  near  future,  be  duplicated  at  an  expenditure  of  millions.  The 
experience  of  the  past  will  be  repeated. 

"In  making  these  suggestions  the  Commissioners  have  no  idea  that  they 
could  be  brought  about  at  once  or  without  effort.  That  they  could  ulti- 
mately be  brought  about,  if  the  Boston  and  Albany  management  desired,  there 
can  be  little  room  for  doubt.  Whatever  is  done,  and  whether  it  be  on  a 
comprehensive  plan  or  in  continuation  of  the  make-shift  policy  of  the  past, 
the  passenger-station  question  is  the  first  to  be  decided." 

Acting  upon  these  suggestions,  and  certainly  influenced,  so 
far  as  the  directors  of  the  Albany  road  were  concerned,  by 
them,  committees  were  appointed  by  the  directors  of  both  com- 
panies to  confer  upon  the  subject,  and  several  meetings  between 
these  committees  and  the  representatives  of  the  roads  were  held. 
No  special  result  followed  these  attempts  at  negotiation.  The 
directors  of  the  Providence  road  preferred,  and  proposed  to  lease 
one-half  of  the  premises  of  the  corporation,  north  of  Dartmouth 
Street,  to  the  Boston  and  Albany  road,  upon  terms  to  be  ar- 
ranged between  them,  or  by  reference ;  or,  if  that  proposition 
was  not  acceptable,  it  was  stated  that  a  proposition  to  exchange 
share  for  share,  and  so  consolidate  the  two  properties,  would  be 
submitted  to  their  stockholders.    Neither  of  these  propositions 
met  the  approval  of  the  directors  of  the  Albany  road,  at  that  time, 
and  they  were  accordingly  declined.    The  directors  of  the  Bos- 
ton and  Albany  road  were  of  the  opinion,  that  the  joint  use  of 
the  Providence  station,  good  as  it  is,  by  two  large  and  independ- 
ent companies,  managed  by  different  officers  and  under  some- 
what different  systems,  would  be  undesirable  and  inexpedient. 
While  these  negotiations  were  going  on,  the  directors  of  the 


6 


Albany  road  were  considering  plans  for  the  location  of  the  new 
station  upon  the  land  of  the  company  on  the  south  side  of 
Kneeland  Street.  By  the  plan  of  the  company's  land,  which  is 
herewith  exhibited,  you  will  see  that  it  owns  all  the  land  in- 
cluded in  the  area  bounded  by  Albany  Street  on  the  west, 
Kneeland  Street  on  the  north,  Utica  and  South  Streets  on  the 
east,  and  Broadway  extension  on  the  south.  The  Albany-street 
bridge  is  the  key  to  this  whole  position.  It  cannot  be  materially 
changed.  It  presents  an  obstacle  to  the  location  of  the  pro. 
posed  station  on  Albany  Street,  which  cannot  be  overcome.  A 
sharp  curve  of  only  four  hundred  and  thirty  feet  radius  would 
have  to  be  encountered  at  the  very  entrance  of  the  station, 
which,  with  the  necessary  switches,  would  be  impracticable  and 
dangerous  for  the  heavy  locomotives  of  the  passenger-trains. 
There  is  not  an  engineer,  or  intelligent  man  acquainted  with  the 
practical  working  of  the  road,  who  does  not  utterly  condemn 
this  location  for  a  passenger-station.  It  has  therefore  been  de- 
cided, if  we  must  remain  in  this  locality,  to  place  the  new 
station  on  the  block  of  land  now  occupied  by  the  large  brick 
freight-house,  between  Lincoln  and  Utica  Streets,  and  to  build 
two  new  freight-houses  to  supply  its  place.  One  of  these  new 
freight-houses  has  been  already  built,  and  is  now  in  use,  and  the 
other  will  be  finished  early  in  the  spring.  The  plans  for  the 
new  passenger-station  are  made,  and,  so  far  as  the  building 
alone  is  concerned,  are  satisfactory.  The  new  station  will  fur- 
nish, in  my  judgment,  as  I  have  before  stated,  when  passengers 
are  once  in  it,  as  ample,  convenient,  and  comfortable  accommo- 
dations as  the  best  of  the  passenger-stations  in  Boston.  The 
change  of  the  location,  which  was  asked  for,  as  a  matter  of  sup- 
posed necessity,  has  been  approved  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen, 
and  by  the  Railroad  Commissioners. 

Thus  far,  while  we  have  been  erecting  new  buildings,  we 
have  destroyed  nothing  of  value.  Those  which  we  have  built 
and  are  now  building  will  be  necessary  under  any  arrangement 
that  may  be  made.  Before  committing  the  company  irrevo- 
cably, by  the  destruction  of  large  and  valuable  buildings,  to 
the  proposed  scheme,  to  which  there  are  so  many  serious  objec- 
tions, the  directors  have  thought  it  wise  and  proper  to  make 
one  more  effort  to  effect  an  arrangement  with  the  directors  of 
the  Boston  and  Providence  road,  and  have  now  submitted  to 
them  a  formal  and  distinct  proposition  to  unite  and  consolidate 


7 


the  two  companies  upon  the  basis  of  share  for  share  of  stock, 
subject,  of  course,  to  the  approval  of  the  Stockholders,  and  to 
the  action  of  the  Legislature.  This  is  the  present  position  of 
the  case,  as  I  understand  it.  I  now  desire  to  state  to  the  com- 
mittee some  of  the  considerations  which  have  induced  the 
directors  of  the  Albany  road  to  take  this  action. 

The  permanent  establishment  of  the  passenger-station  of  the 
Boston  and  Albany  road,  at  or  near  its  present  location,  per- 
petuates for  all  time  the  grade  crossing  at  Dartmouth  Street. 
Seventy-eight  .  passenger-trains   upon  the  Albany  road,  and 
seventy-two,  I  think,  upon  the  Providence  road,  making  one 
hundred  and  fifty  trains  in 'all,  daily  stop  and  cross  each  other 
at  this  point.     The  average  delay  of  a  passenger-train  by 
stopping,  including  the  time  lost  in  slowing  and  getting  under 
full  headway  again,  is  from  two  and  a  quarter  to  two  and  a 
half  minutes.    This  makes  an  aggregate  detention  of  all  the 
trains,  with  their  thousands  of  passengers,  of  from  five  and  a 
half  to  six  hours  a  day.    In  addition  to  this,  it  takes  the  Al- 
bany trains  at  least  two  minutes  longer  to  run  from  the  cross- 
ing to  the  Beach-street  station,  than  it  would  to  the  Providence 
station :  so  that  all  the  passengers  on  the  Providence  road 
would  gain  from  two  and  a  quarter  to  two  and  a  half  minutes, 
and  those  on  the  Albany  road  from  four  to  five  minutes  in  the 
cars,  on  every  trip  in  and  out  of  Boston.    The  time-tables  of 
both  roads  could  be  shortened  just  so  much.    This  saving  of 
time  would  go  far  to  compensate  for  any  additional  distance  to 
and  from  the  station  in  the  city.    The  expense  to  both  com- 
panies of  this  large  number  of  unnecessary  stops,  although  of 
less  consequence,  is  deserving  of  some  consideration.  The 
danger  from  this  grade  crossing  cannot  be  avoided.  Every 
possible  known  appliance  is  or  should  be  used  to  insure  safety. 
But,  after  all  is  done  that  can  be  done  in  this  way,  every 
thing  will  depend  upon  human  intelligence,  vigilance,  and 
fidelity.    Accidents  have  happened  in  the  past  at  this  cross- 
ing by  trains  coming  in  collision,  resulting  in  one  case,  within 
my  own  recollection,  in  the  death  of  a  faithful  engineer ;  and 
there  have  been  narrow  escapes,  of  which  no  public  mention 
has  been  made.    In  the  case  I  have  referred  to,  if  the  engine 
had  struck  the  passenger-train  midway,  no  one  would  care  to 
contemplate  what  the  consequences  might  have  been.    Let  the 
signal-man  neglect  his  duty,  or  the  engineer  mistake  or  neglect. 


8 


the  signal,  or  miscalculate  the  distance  or  the  power  of  the 
brakes,  and  two  trains  may  be  thrown  together  at  any  moment. 
The  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  Company 
are  not  willing,  and  do  not  propose,  to  take  the  moral  responsi- 
bility of  perpetuating  this  inconvenient  and  dangerous  crossing  ; 
and  it  is  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  themselves  and 
their  company  from  it  that  they  have  made  concessions  which 
under  other  circumstances  they  would  not  have  felt  justified  in 
making. 

Another  serious  objection  to  the  proposed  scheme  for  a  new 
station  on  Kneeland  Street  is  the  absolute  waste  of  the  money 
which  is  to  be  expended  upon  it.  The  cost  of  the  station  which 
it  is  proposed  to  erect,  cannot  be  less  than  $300,000.  The  value 
of  the  buildings  which  it  will  be  necessary  to  destroy  is,  at  the 
least,  1100,000  more.  Add  to  this  the  value  of  the  land  which 
will  be  required  for  the  stations  and  the  tracks  devoted  to  the 
business,  and  you  have  the  cost  of  these  passenger-accommoda- 
tions. Now,  it  seems  to  the  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany 
road  as  well  for  their  company,  and  better  for  all  other  parties, 
to  pay  this  sum  to  the  stockholders  of  the  Boston  and  Providence 
road  as  a  bonus  for  their  property,  rather  than  to  waste  it  upon 
unnecessary  buildings. 

The  location  of  the  proposed  new  station  is  extremely  objec- 
tionable, and  will  never  be  satisfactory  to  a  large  majority  of  our 
passengers,  and  especially  to  that  large  class  who  are  least  able 
to  provide  for  themselves,  and  whose  comfort  and  convenience 
it  is  our  first  duty  to  consider.  The  station  cannot  be  placed 
on  -Albany  Street,  for  the  reason  which  I  have  stated.  Its  loca- 
tion on  South  Street,  which  is  advocated  in  some  quarters, 
would  involve  the  purchase  of  additional  land,  at  a  cost,  now,  of 
half  a  million  of  dollars,  and  which,  until  now,  could  not  have 
been  purchased  for  twice  that  sum.  If  placed  there,  it  would 
be  still  farther  removed  from  the  centres  of  business  and  popu- 
lation. The  only  advantage  of  this  location  would  be  its  prox- 
imity to  the  station  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad.  Great  changes 
are  to  take  place  in  the  streets  in  this  portion  of  the  city. 
Albany  Street,  from  being  a  comparatively  dead  and  deserted 
street,  is  to  become  a  noisy  and  crowded  thoroughfare.  The 
travel  on  Kneeland  Street  has  already  largely  increased,  since  it 
has  been  partially  relieved  of  obstructions  by  the  railroad ;  and 
it  will  be  doubled  when  the  Beach-street  station  is  removed. 


0 


The  approaches  to  the  present  station  are  through  clean, 
quiet,  and  convenient  streets,  and  are  in  no  way  objectionable. 
The  additional  distance  of  five  hundred  feet  to  the  proposed 
Kneeland-street  station,  will  take  lis  to  an  entirely  different 
neighborhood,  and  into  less  agreeable  surroundings.  Forty 
years  of  the  traffic  of  the  Albany  and  Old  Colony  Railroads 
have  made  this  locality  what  it  is,  and  no  better  than  it  is.  All 
the  heavy  freight  business  of  these  two  great  roads  pours 
through  and  across  the  streets.  It  is  no  disparagement  to  the 
property  or  the  property-holders  on  Kneeland,  Utica,  and  Lincoln 
Streets  to  say,  that  this  is  not  a  suitable  place  for  a  passenger- 
station  for  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad.  I  hope,  Mr.  Chair- 
man and  gentlemen,  you  will  view  these  premises,  and  judge  for 
yourselves  if  the  directors  of  the  road  are  making  a  mistake  in 
this  matter.  I  hope,  also,  that  our  friends  upon  the  line  of  our 
road,  from  whom  we  regret  to  differ,  and  whose  comfort  and 
convenience  it  is  our  desire  and  duty  to  consider,  will  not  only 
examine  this  location  for  themselves,  but  take  the  opinion  and 
advice  of  their  wives  and  daughters  upon  the  subject ;  and  I 
shall  be  surprised  if  they  do  not  agree  with  us,  that  they  are 
entitled  to  better  accommodations  than  any  they  can  enjoy  there. 

The  proposed  passenger-station  and  connecting  tracks  will 
occupy  from  two  to  three  acres  of  land  that  cannot  well  be 
spared  for  the  purpose.  It  will  all  be  wanted  for  the  freight 
business  of  the  road.  It  is,  in  my  judgment,  the  more  impor- 
tant of  the  two,  to  the  great  commercial  interests  of  Boston,  to 
have  good  and  convenient  facilities  for  freight  business  than  for 
passengers.  The  latter  can  easily  and  cheaply  move  them- 
selves, whereas  all  merchandise  has  to  be  moved  at  considerable 
cost,  and  the  longer  the  distance  the  greater  the  cost.  The 
modern  way  of  business  is  for  sales  and  purchases  in  small 
quantities,  at  short  intervals  of  time,  and  prompt  delivery  is  of 
the  utmost  conseqnence.  That  is  a  circumstance  wherein  Bos- 
ton has,  and  should  maintain,  its  advantage  over  New  York.  I 
consider  the  admirable  location  of  the  local  freight-houses  of 
the  Boston  and  Albany  road,  in  such  close  proximity  to  the 
business  centre  of  the  city,  as  of  far  more  importance  to  its 
business  interests  than  the  passenger-station,  wherever  it  may 
be  located.  If,  by  the  curtailment  of  these  freight  facilities,  to 
accommodate  the  passenger  business,  any  considerable  portion 
of  the  freight  business  of  the  road  should  be  forced  to  South 


10 


Boston,  or  to  the  Back  Bay,  the  additional  cost  of  teaming  to 
and  from  these  distant  points,  will  be  a  direct  tax  upon  ever}' 
merchant  doing  business  with  the  road,  and  so  far  a  positive 
injury  to  the  commercial  interests  of  the  city.  The  removal  of 
the  passenger  business  of  the  Albany  road  to  the  Providence 
station,  will  not  only  secure  all  these  freight  facilities  to  the 
Albany  road,  but  will  be  followed  by  the  transfer  of  the 
freight  of  the  Providence  road  to  the  Albany  yard,  to  the  great 
advantage  of  all  doing  business  over  that  line.  The  city  will 
be  benefited,  in  so  far  as  the  heavy  teaming  to  and  from  the 
Providence  station,  which  is  now  done  through  Boylston,  Essex, 
and  Chauncy  Streets,  crossing  Tremont  and  Washington 
Streets,  will  find  the  Boston  and  Albany  yard  by  shorter  routes, 
through  less  crowded  streets. 

The  union  of  the  Albany  and  Providence  roads  will  secure 
to  the  latter — perhaps  I  should  say  to  both  companies  —  the 
use  of  the  Union  Freight  Railroad.  The  Providence  road  now 
owns  an  undivided  half  of  this  freight  road,  but  has  no  way  or 
means  of  connecting  its  tracks  with  or  using  it,  excepting  over 
the  Albany  road ;  and  it  is  manifest  that  the  city  of  Boston 
will  never  permit  the  extension  of  this  road  to  the  Providence 
station,  by  a  track  through  Kneeland  and  Eliot  Streets,  cross- 
ing Harrison  Avenue,  Washington  and  Tremont  Streets  at 
grade. 

;  It  will  also  enable  the  Providence  railroad  and  the  city  of 
Providence  to  make  a  close  freight  connection,  without  an 
intervening  link,  by  means  of  the  Grand  Junction  Railroad, 
with  the  Eastern,  Maine,  Fitchburg,  and  Lowell  Railroads. 

The  effect  of  the  proposed  union  of  the  two  companies,  and 
the  consequent  removal  of  the  passenger-station  of  the  Albany 
road,  upon  the  real  estate  in  its  vicinity,  remains  to  be  consid- 
ered. The  evils  anticipated  from  such  changes  are  often 
entirely  imaginary,  and  almost  always  greatly  exaggerated. 
Nevertheless,  in  the  present  case,  the  belief  is  sincerely  enter- 
tained, that  the  continuance  of  the  Albany  passenger-station 
Substantially  in  its  present  locality  is  essential  to  the  value  of 
property  in  the  neighborhood.  I  do  not  share  in  this  opinion. 
Railroad  passenger-stations,  in  large  cities,  are  not  desirable 
neighbors.  It  is  not  in  their  vicinity  that  property  reaches  or 
maintains  a  high  value,  unless  the  railroad-company  is  itself,  or 
is  supposed  to  be,  a  customer  for  it.    How  much  has  the  com- 


Boston  &  Albany  railroad  company. 

Statement  made  before  the  leg- 
islative committee  on  railroads  in 
relation  to  a  consolidation  of  the 
Boston  &  Albany  and  Boston  £  Prov- 
idence railroad  corporations,,  and 
the  removal  of  the  Beach  Street  pass- 
enger station  of  the  Boston  &  Albany 
railroad.     Boston,  Franklin  Press, 


CO 

ro 


(*I»a)   *oui   'qoq.Tsds©a:  sq.UB-qoj9i,'i 


11 


bined  influence  of  the  four  great  railroads  upon  the  north  side 
of  the  city,  wiuh  their  stations  quite  near  together,  done  to  hold 
the  centre  of  trade  in  their  vicinity  '/  I  can  find  no  great  evi- 
dence of  growth  and  improvement  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  Old  Colony  road,  which  has  an  excellent  station,  and  a 
very  large  passenger  business. 

The  Old  Boston  and  Worcester,  now  the  Boston  and  Albany 
road,  has  had  the  special  benefit  of  the  United  States  Hotel 
directly  in  front  of  its  station  for  thirty  years  or  more-;  but 
what  have  the  hotel  and  station  together  been  able  to  do, 
toward  giving  business  and  character  and  value  to  Lincoln  and 
Albany  Streets  ?  Business  is  tending  toward  the  terminus  of 
the  Boston  and  Albany  road,  population  toward  that  of  the 
Boston  and  Providence  road,  not  in  consequence  of,  but  in 
spite  of,  the  railroads.  The  termini  of  these  two  roads,  fortu- 
nately for  them,  are  directly  or  nearly  in  the  path  of  the  city's 
growth  and  development ;  for  the  city  of  Boston,  like  all  other 
prosperous  cities  and  towns,  must  grow  and  expand  where  there 
is  room  for  expansion.  I  have  heard  it  stated  that  the  removal 
of  this  station  will  depreciate  property  and  reduce  rents  in  the 
city  as  far  north  as  High  Street,  and  west  upon  the  line  of 
the  railroad,  as  far  as  the  city  of  Newton.  The  Boston  and 
Albany  Railroad  Company  has  had  some  experience  in  matters 
of  this  kind.  The  great  changes  in  the  passenger-stations  in 
the  city  of  Worcester  were  effected  by  the  same  influences 
which  operate  here,  and  under  very  similar  circumstances. 
Important  streets  were  obstructed  by  the  railroads  there,  until, 
under  the  pressure  of  public  opinion,  the  Legislature  passed  an 
act  requiring  the  railroad-companies  to  remove  a  passenger- 
station  which  had  been  maintained  forty  years,  to  a  location  a 
third  of  a  mile  distant.  Remonstrances  were  poured  in,  as  they 
are,  or  will  be  here,  against  the  change.  Predictions  were  made, 
and  have  been  preserved  in  print,  that  every  foot  of  land  on  the 
principal  street  in  the  city,  and  all  the  land  west  of  it,  would 
deteriorate  in  value  in  consequence  of  the  removal  of  the. 
station.  The  change,  however,  was  made,  and  I  think  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  any  evidence  of  decay  or  depreciation  of  the 
value  of  property  in  consequence  of  it.  With  the  single 
exception  of  the  United  States  Hotel  property,  I  doubt  if  any 
real  estate  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Beach-street  station  will 
be  injuriously  affected,  to  any  appreciable  extent,  by  its  removal ; 


e,  Of  ILL*  U& 


and  the  hotel  property  will  be  about  as  much  injured,  for  a 
hotel,  by  the  removal  of  the  station  below  Kneeland  Street. 
The  concentration  of  all  the  freight  business  of  the  two  com- 
panies will  keep  this  a  most  busy  section  of  the  city.  Albany 
Street  is  sure  to  become  a  business  street.  The  storehouses  on 
Utica  Street  will  be  more  valuable  if  the  freight-house  remains 
than  if  it  is  converted  into  a  passenger-station.  Any  use  to 
which  the  present  Beach-street  station  can  be  put,  and  which 
will  no  longer  require  the  lower  part  of  Lincoln  Street  to  be 
little  else  than  a  great  hack-stand,  cannot  but  be  beneficial  to 
the  adjoining  property,  for  business  purposes.  There  may  be  a 
few  less  small  fruit-stores  on  Kingston  Street,  and  a  few  less 
stores  of  a  different  kind  on  Kneeland  Street;  but  these  will 
soon  give  place  to  other  business,  when  they  are  no  longer 
patronized. 

I  have  had  the  distances  carefully  measured  on  the  most 
accurate  maps  of  the  city,  to  get  the  comparative  distances 
from  the  Providence  station  and  from  the  proposed  Kneeland- 
street  station,  to  certain  common  and  central  points  in  the  city. 
For  all  of  Washington  Street  there  is  no  substantial  difference 
between  the  two  stations.  East  of  Washington  Street,  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  situation,  so  far  as  distance  is  concerned,  is  in 
favor  of  the  Kneeland-street  location  ;  and  west  of  it,  is  in  favor 
of  the  Providence  station.  I  am  obliged  to  admit,  that  for  that 
portion  of  the  city  which  may  be  called  the  burnt  district, 
where  the  "  merchants  most  do  congregate,"  the  advantage  is 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Kneeland-street  location. 

I  can  only  meet  the  argument,  or  assertion,  or  apprehension, 
in  whichever  form  the  idea  may  be  expressed,  that,  if  a  union 
of  the  Boston  and  Albany  and  Boston  and  Providence  roads 
should  be  effected,  the  Boston  and  Providence  road  would  no 
longer  be  "  managed  for  the  convenience  of  the  passenger  and 
business  traffic  of  the  two  cities  which  it  connects,  and  the 
intervening  territory,"  by  asking  for  what  other  earthly  purpose 
it  can  be  managed.  The  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany 
Railroad  Company  do  not  propose  to  purchase  this  property, : 
and  cannot  afford  to  pay  the  high  price  which  they  have  offered 
for  it,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  it.  There  was  some  such 
absurd  notion,  here  and  there,  when  the  Western  and  Boston 
and  Worcester  Railroads  were  consolidated,  that  the  forty 
miles  of  road  between  Boston  and  Worcester  would  be  only  "  a 


1 3 


straw  to  put  into  Boston's  molasses-jug.1'  I  have  QO  doubt 
that  our  friends  in  Brookline  and  Newton  and  Wellesley, 
although  they  may  not  agree  with  me  upon  the  matter  we  are 
now  considering,  will  yet  say  that  their  trains  were  not  cur- 
tailed, their  cars  neglected,  their  stations  suffered  to  go  to 
decay,  or  their  privileges  or  business  facilities  in  any  way 
abridged,  in  consequence  of  that  consolidation. 

The  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  company 
have  been  prompted  to  their  present  action  by  the  highest 
authority  on  such  matters,  the  late  able  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Railroad  Commissioners.  They  have  been  influenced  by  a 
sincere  desire  to  meet  public  expectation,  and  to  do  the  best 
thing  for  all  interests.  They  have  no  desire  to  aggrandize  their 
company,  nor  to  add  to  their  own  duties  and  responsibilities. 
These  are  quite  enough  as  they  are.  They  have  endeavored  to 
look  beyond  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  present  time,  and 
to  meet  the  question  which  is  presented  to  them,  "  not  in  con- 
tinuation of  the  make-shift  polic}'  of  the  past,  but  on  a  compre- 
hensive plan,"  as  recommended  by  the  Commissioners.  A  few 
months  ago  the  offer  that  has  been  made,  would  have  been 
thought  an  extravagant  one.  It  is  generous  to-day.  If  the 
arrangement  shall  be  sanctioned  by  the  Legislature,  and  accept- 
ed by  the  stockholders  of  the  two  roads,  they  will  have  the 
satisfaction  of  having  aided  to  secure  for  these  two  great  com- 
panies, and  for  all  who  are  connected  with  and  do  business 
over  them,  the  very  best  terminal  facilities  for  both  passengers 
and  freight,  that  any  railroad-company  has,  or  ever  can  have,  in 
the  city  of  Boston.  If  the  project  shall  fail,  they  will  have 
done  what  they  honorably  could  do  to  accomplish  that  end. 

Note.  —  At  the  adjourned  hearing  on  Thursday,  March  4,  in  reply  to 
the  charges  which  had  been  made  by  the  counsel  for  the  remonstrants,  that 
the  Boston  and  Albany  management  had  been  guilty  of  44  indirectness  and 
of  subterfuges  and  disguises  "  in  procuring  the  petition,  President  Lin- 
coln said  that  he  should  regret  that  the  members  of  the  committee  should 
think  that  the  Directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  Company,  or  its 
President,  had  been  guilty  of  attempting  to  gain  an  advantage  by  "  indirect- 
ness," or  that  they  had  been  playing  a  trick  upon  this  committee  or  a  Massa- 
chusetts Legislature.  He  asserted  that  he  had  no  knowledge  whatsoever 
about  the  petition,  until  he  saw  it  in  the  morning  papers,  and  was  surprised 
to  see  it.  He  had  no  conversation  with  Mr.  Aspinwall  or  either  of  the 
gentlemen  who  signed  the  petition  upon  the  subject,  and  knew  nothing  of 
their  intention  to  present  it.    He  also  said  that  the  directors  did  expect  and 


14 


intend  to  present  a  petition  upon  the  subject  in  behalf  of  the  company. 
Knowing  that  the  time  for  the  introduction  of  new  business  was  soon  to 
expire,  he  had  called  a  meeting  of  his  Board  of  Directors,  hoping  and 
expecting  that  an  agreement  or  understanding  would  be  reached  with  the 
President  of  the  Providence  road  upon  the  subject;  but,  having  failed  to 
agree  upon  the  terms  of  union  of  the  two  roads,  the  meeting  was  abandoned 
and  the  subject  dropped  by  his  company,  except  as  he  appeared  here  now 
in  aid  of  the  petition  and  to  explain  the  position  and  views  of  the  directors. 


f 


i 


